By Miles Downard
There’s something rather eery about the thought of a 1.5 ton car cruising along a motorway with no one behind the wheel, but that’s the reality we will soon be facing as development of autonomous cars races along.
For some American motorists it’s a reality that came all too soon when this YouTube prankster dressed up to blend into the driver’s seat of his Tesla Model S and activated its driver aid systems. Systems which use an array of cameras and sensors to take control of your speed, steering inputs and the brakes. You sit back, using neither your hands or feet, for the duration of your motorway trip.
It’s by no means new technology, having been available on the Tesla Model S since 2014 – and a myriad of other cars too – but what it does it leave ample time for you to sit back and think of pranks like this one.
As you can imagine there were some interesting reactions from fellow motorists. Have a watch here: